New Ebola epicenter emerges in Liberian village

The village of Jene-Wonde in Grand Cape Mount County near Liberia’s border with Sierra Leone has become a new epicenter in West Africa’s deadly Ebola outbreak.

The village of 300 people has already lost 10 percent of its population since late September. According to one resident, Jene-Wonde lacks the medical facilities needed to stop the virus from infecting more people. Another citizen said neighboring villages are ostracizing her community.

Liberia has had 2,766 deaths blamed on Ebola, the highest number of any of the three nations battling the virus. The level of fear rises with each death in the Jene-Wonde, and residents are pleading for help.

'We are begging the government to come to our rescue,' resident James Jallah Paul said. 'If the government does not come to our rescue, we will finish (die) here; this place will be an empty space.'

The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have updated their personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines in response to more than 500 health care workers being infected by Ebola.

About half of the infected health care workers have died, and experts hope the new guidelines and better training will stop Ebola transmission during patient care. Efforts are also underway to create better PPE, such as hood coverings and other protections.

Number of Ebola Infections Increase Sharply in Sierra Leone

Official figures released Sunday showed a dramatic spike in the number of Ebola cases in Sierra Leone, dashing hopes that the rate of infection had slowed.

There were 111 infections registered Sunday, the highest daily total since August. There were 45 new cases Saturday, including 24 in Sierra Leone’s capitol city of Freetown.

The daily reports of new infections came days after the United Nations warned that Ebola cases in Sierra Leone are being underreported by up to 50 percent.

The WHO has warned that Sierra Leone may need up to 4,000 hospital beds by the end of November to treat people infected by the virus. There are currently 500 hospital beds in the country.